Unit 4: The Sports Performer in Action

Unit introduction 

A month ago you could barely run two miles; your heart would be racing and your
leg muscles would be sore. Now, after running four times a week, a three-mile run is
no sweat. So what's going on inside your body?

Anyone who has exercised regularly has experienced the thrill of improving. We
improve because we train. But how exactly does your body adapt to training? In what
way do your muscles change? What happens to your heart? Why doesn't it beat as
fast when you're ‘in shape’?

When a person exercises regularly, the body undergoes several short-term effects,
such as increased breathing and heart rate. However, as their training progresses
they’ll start to notice that the short-term effects first observed change and they
develop different long-term adaptations, such as a slower heart rate than before and
a more controlled and easier breathing rate when they exercise. But why do these
changes take place? What causes the change in physiological responses over a period
of time? This unit will look at the training effects that occur when a person regularly
participates in sport and physical activity over a given period of time.

For learning aim A, you’ll look at the musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory systems
and how they function normally (before a training programme, taking part in
exercise/sport regularly) and how they can function as a result of taking part in
training/exercise/sport over a length of time.

For learning aim B, you’ll look at the energy systems for different sporting activities.
So, if a performer needs energy quickly, they’ll rely on energy already stored within
the body. For a longer-term period of sport or exercise the body struggles to store a
lot of energy, but it can make energy from resources inside and outside the body. By
understanding how your body works and how it can be trained, as a sports performer
or as a coach, you can help to make the necessary adaptations in order to produce
improved sports performance.

Knowledge of the physiology of the body is useful for many careers in sport including
roles in the fitness industry, which involve giving advice on training and lifestyle to
clients.

Watch the prezi below to learn a little about the short term effects of exercise on the musculoskeletal system (the muscles, bones and joints)

Practical Portfolios - Applying the Rules - Volleyball

Copy the following 4 scenarios to your blog and then state what you would do if you were officiating the match:

1. During a particularly long rally you notice that several drops of sweat have appeared on the court. What would you do?

2. The server clips the net but does land on the other side without being touched by the opposition. What would you do?

3. Without realising, a team plays 4 passes before the ball is hit over the net. What would you do?

4. A player smashes the ball after a perfect set and clips the net with his fingers as his arm follows through. What would you do?

Fitness Testing

These are the fitness tests we will be using for the different components of fitness:

Flexibility - Sit and Reach
Strength - Grip Dynamometer
Cardiovascular Endurance - Multi-Stage Fitness Test (Beep Test) and the Cooper Run (12min Run)
Speed - 35m Sprint (running start)
Agility - Illinois Agility Run
Power - Vertical Jump Test
Muscular Endurance - 1min Sit Up Tset & 1min Press Up Test

Baseline/Normative Data - So we can measure our performance against others
Practicality - What do we need and how do we set up the tests
Validity -Does the test actually test the component of fitness we want it to. What else might it test?
Reliability - Are the results accurate? Why might they be wrong?

The Methods of Training

Training can be aerobic or anaerobic.

Aerobic training improves cardiovascular fitness. Photo courtesy of BBC Sport

• In aerobic exercise, which is steady and not too fast, the heart is able to supply enough oxygen to the muscles. Aerobic training improves cardiovascular fitness.
• Anaerobic exercise is performed in short, fast bursts where the heart cannot supply enough oxygen to the muscles. Anaerobic training improves the ability of the muscles to work without enough oxygen when lactic acid is produced.

Specific training methods can be used to improve each fitness factor.

Weight training improves muscular strength, endurance and power

• Circuit training involves performing a series of exercises in a special order called a circuit. Each activity takes place at a 'station'. It can be designed to improve speed, agility, coordination, balance and muscular endurance.
• Continuous training involves working for a sustained period of time without rest. It improves cardio-vascular fitness.
• Cross training involves using another sport or activity to improve your fitness. It happens when an athlete trains in a different environment. For example a volleyball player uses the power training for that sport to help with fitness for long jump.
• Fartlek training or 'speed play' training involves varying your speed and the type of terrain over which you run, walk, cycle or ski. It improves aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
• Interval training involves alternating between periods of hard exercise and rest. It improves speed and muscular endurance.
• Weight training uses weights to provide resistance to the muscles. It improves muscular strength (high weight, low reps), muscular endurance (low weight, high reps, many sets) and power (medium weight and reps performed quickly).
• Altitude training (AQA only) is aerobic training high above sea level, where oxygen levels are lower. It is used to increase aerobic fitness quickly.

General methods of training can be applied to specific sports. For example, continuous training might involve swimming, cycling, rowing, aerobics or running.

The Principles of Training

Training should be matched to an individual's need

By using the principles of training as a framework we can plan a personal training programme that uses scientific principles to improve performance, skill, game ability and physical fitness.

A successful training programme will meet individual needs which are personal fitness needs based on age, gender, fitness level and the sport for which we are training. A successful training programme will also include exercise in the correct heart-rate target zone.

The key principles when planning a programme are:

• Specificity – training must be matched to the needs of the sporting activity to improve fitness in the body parts the sport uses.
• Overload - fitness can only be improved by training more than you normally do. You must work hard.
• Progression – start slowly and gradually increase the amount of exercise and keep overloading.
• Reversibility – any adaptation that takes place as a result of training will be reversed when you stop training. If you take a break or don’t train often enough you will lose fitness.

In planning a programme, use the FITT principles to add the detail:

• Frequency - decide how often to train.
• Intensity - choose how hard to train.
• Time - decide for how long to train.
• Type - decide which methods of training to use.

You should also consider the principle of moderation. It is important to have rest periods which allow the body to adapt. Too much training (overtraining) can lead to injury.

Work for Tuesday 22nd October

Continue creating your PowToon on Target Zones or the Components of Fitness. You may wish to use the poster below to help with Target Zone explanations:

Sign up and Create your own PowToon

Today, I would like you to start creating your own 'PowToon' on either:

• Target Zones (include max. Heart rate, why work out your target zone etc)
• Most Important Components of Fitness for Football (or sport of your choice)

Sign up at www.powtoon.com by using your google account (same username and password as blogger).

THESE PRESENTATIONS SHOULD NOT USE LOTS OF TEXT. Just get the key points across and if you would like to include more details and definitions, you can do a voiceover once your animation is complete.

Here is the one I made on target zones:



If you would like to see a tutorial on how to use PowToon, click here. Otherwise you can start creating staright away.